Soundtrack to Your Life
by alienyouthct
Summary: In Hogsmeade to pick out robes for the Yule Ball, Hermione has a close encounter of the Loony kind… and her life will never be the same.
1. Ruin Me

Title: Ruin Me  
Author: JoeHundredaire  
Rating: PG-13/FR15  
Disclaimer: Captain Fangirlhumper… err, J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter universe. 'Ruin Me' is the property of Jeff Johnson and his CD label and stuff. Not mine.  
Summary: In Hogsmeade to pick out robes for the Yule Ball, Hermione has a close encounter of the Loony kind… and her life will never be the same.  
Joe's Note: My sister got bored of Ginny and Luna, so we settled on Hermione and Luna to try. They make slightly more sense from the UST perspective than anyone light-sided and Draco, after all…

* * *

_'Ruin my life, the plans that I make.  
Ruin desires for my own selfish gain.  
Destroy the idols that have taken your place,  
Till it's you alone I live for,  
You alone I live for.'_

* * *

"You're trying to make yourself pretty for them, but you don't realize that you're already pretty and they're just too foolish to see it."

Hermione Granger's head snapped up and she turned, not recognizing the voice as belonging to either one of her friends or the Gladrags sales staff. Instead, she found an odd-looking girl with blonde hair and wide silvery eyes staring at her without blinking, head canted slightly to one side. A random girl was commenting on her life. How horribly rude. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

After pondering that one for a long moment, the girl shook her head, exposing… radishes for earrings? This was just getting odder and odder. "No. No you don't. The real question, though, is do you know who YOU are?"

Groaning, Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose. She could have purchased dress robes back in August when she visited Diagon Alley, but noooo. She'd opted not to, figuring she wouldn't be participating in whatever social event required them. Now, though, she actually WANTED to dress up and attend the Yule Ball, if for no other reason than to remind Harry and Ron that she was a girl and that one of them could have asked her. That required her to have something to dress up in, which had brought her to Gladrags, and now she had someone spouting philosophical nonsense at her while she was trying to shop. "Yes. I'm Hermione Granger. Now that we've established who I am, will you tell me who you are? And what you want? I'd like to finish shopping."

"I suppose you could call me Luna. Most of the students call me Loony, though. I suppose they think it's witty." No, Hermione decided, it was entirely accurate. The now-named Luna slipped past Hermione and eyed the robes critically before grabbing the brunette by the wrist and leading her away. "And I'm here to save you from making a horrible mistake while trying to look pretty."

Hermione looked down at the girl pulling her along, with her radish earrings, what looked like a necklace made of butterbeer corks on a string, straggly blonde hair, and mismatched purple sweater and peach dress. "You? You're going to give me fashion advice? No offense, but you don't really strike me as the type to be in the know when it comes to haute couture, Luna."

Oddly enough, the blonde didn't seem insulted in the least, just giving Hermione an odd little smile in return. To be honest, it bugged Hermione a bit. She'd been hoping to be rid of the girl with what was normally an insult among girls. With Luna, though, it just flowed over her like water. "I know more about formal wear for witches than a muggleborn does, Hermione."

That… actually made sense, oddly enough. Did the wizarding world have different ideas of what colors matched and clashed than the muggle world did? Not that Hermione was anything close to an expert in fashion in the muggle world to start. She'd been looking at pink dresses because… well, it was pink. It was the closest she could come to wearing a dress that actually had 'I'M A GIRL!' printed on it. "Alright, Luna, I'll bite."

"Really?" Luna gave her a concerned look, and then released her grip on Hermione's arm. "Perhaps I should stand a bit further away then…"

Hermione groaned and debating head-butting one of the store's wooden support pillars. Concussing oneself had to be less of a headache than dealing with this girl. "Not literally. I guess it's a muggle saying. I meant I'm interested in what you have to say, so... lead on."

The hand on her wrist returned and Hermione frowned as she was led over to the lighter shades of the grayscale spectrum: silvers and whites. She wasn't a horribly big fan of white, seeing as how anything she got on herself would show quite noticeably. Some of the silvers were nice, though, including the gown Luna was fingering at the moment. "These would look nice on you and match the silver in my robes. After all, it's important that we coordinate so we make a fetching pair."

"Wait, what?" Hermione had heard the comment perfectly; it wasn't as if her hearing was going. Comprehension, on the other hand… "Why does it matter if my outfit and your outfit match? Half a mo, how are you even going? You're a third year."

Luna just grinned and pulled the dress off the rack, holding it up against Hermione and looking her up and down slowly. "Simple. You're taking me, Hermione."

Hahaha.

Hahaha.

No.

"Yes you are." What, was the girl psychic or something? Oh bugger. What if Luna was psychic? Hermione tried desperately to clear her mind of anything unflattering. "No, I'm not psychic. You're just easy to read for someone who's spent some time watching you." Gah! "You want Ron and Harry to notice you, particularly Ron. You won't make much of a splash if you go alone. You need a date. I want to go just… well, because. It sounds more interesting than sitting in my dorm reading or some such. So I need a date. Quid pro quo, Hermione."

Huffing, Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. Lovely. She had an odd little stalker girl who wasn't even good at keeping an eye on her. "I'll have you know that Viktor Krum asked me to the Yule Ball, and once I get back to the school and definitely have robes to wear, I plan on accepting. Now if you don't mind, thank you for the help, but I'll be going now."

Hermione took the admittedly pretty dress from Luna's hand and turned, making it a single step away before the blonde's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Would you rather go with someone who wants you because you don't want him, just to make a point with your friends, or go with someone who's actually wants to know you?"

Grr. Yes, Hermione had been well aware of why Viktor had asked her to the Yule Ball: she was pretty much the only girl in the castle who wasn't a raving fan girl, save for that French tart Fleur. Fleur was a fellow champion, though, and therefore ineligible to be his date… which only left her. Hermione grit her teeth. She hadn't been too keen on being an consolation prize shield against his fangirls before, and now that Luna had brought it up again she was even less thrilled. "Quid pro quo, huh?"

"It's a good way of looking at it." Luna grabbed Hermione by the elbow, slowly turning the brunette to face her. "I'll be a perfect gentleman. Bring you a corsage and everything. It'll be just like a normal date for you. We can even sit with your friends… after all, it's not like I have any." Hermione felt a pang of kinship then, remembering what it was like to be the house outcast those first few months of first year, before Ron and Harry saved her from that troll. Luna just waved what must have been visible sympathy away. "I am who I am. It's not your fault they choose not to like me, Hermione. So, what do you say? We can even meet for lunch on the next Hogsmeade weekend. Get to know each other a bit better so it's not so terribly awkward on the night of the ball."

Strangely enough, when Luna put it that way… it didn't sound like such a terrible idea. After all, she didn't really know anyone outside of Harry and Ron, so if anyone other than those two took her to the ball, she'd be going with a stranger. Luna was stranger than most, but had approached her, initiated conversation, made the offer (even though it really hadn't been her place and had been more of inviting herself), and wanted to get to know her between now and then. She could surely do worse… but the real question was, could she do better?

No, probably not.

Hermione let Luna wait and wonder for a bit longer before nodding decisively. "That sounds good to me. But only if you agree to have lunch with me this afternoon too. We both have to eat, so we might as well do it together and get a start on getting to know each other, hmm?"

"Acceptable." Luna took the dress from Hermione and headed for the nearest saleswitch. "Excuse me. My Hermione needs to be fitted, if you have a moment?"

Blushing faintly at 'my Hermione', the witch in question followed behind the saleswitch obediently as she was led to a back room for a fitting. "Luna?"

"Hmm?"

"I know it's rather iffy in the muggle world still… but where does the wizarding world stand on two witches or wizards as a couple? Is it normal here? Not that we're a couple or anything, but if I'm going to be stoned or something for showing up at the ball with you, I might want to learn a shield spell or something…"

"No, it's not normal. But then again, neither of us is quite normal by the wizarding world's standards either, are we?"

"Touché."


	2. Girls Just Want to Have Lunch

Disclaimer: Captain Fangirlhumper… err, J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter universe. 'Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch' is the property of Weird Al and his CD label and stuff. Not mine.  
Joe's Note: Look ma, more fic! Sis still isn't done illustrating the first chapter, but I made her more anyways. I figure if I get far enough ahead, she won't be able to bug me for a while. Bwa ha ha ha ha!

* * *

_'Some girls like to buy new shoes,  
And others like driving trucks and wearing tattoos.  
There's only one thing that they all like a bunch:  
Oh, girls, they want to have lunch.  
Oh girls just want to have lunch…'_

* * *

Sitting back in their booth in the Three Broomsticks, Hermione stared at Luna with undisguised awe. Who would have thought that the girl everyone else thought was mad, the girl who wore rubbish and food for jewelry… would be so bloody brilliant? While her arithmancy skills were a bit behind (understandable, given Luna was in her first year of the class while Hermione was in her second), the blonde was actually ahead of Hermione when it came to understanding ancient runes and civilizations. The phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover' came to mind, for some reason.

"Bloody hell!" Groaning, Hermione turned her head to find Harry and Ron standing next to their booth… or rather Ron standing there with Harry a half pace behind him, hand on one of Ron's shoulders and a sympathetic look on his face. "Hermione! You skipped out on us to have lunch with Loony Lovegood?"

Hermione scowled, slipping her wand from her pocket and pointing it at him. While she was nowhere near as vicious as Ginny Weasley when it came to hexes, she had an idea or two in mind for spells to try depending on how the next few exchanges went. "I wasn't aware that being friends with you precluded me from making other friends, Ronald."

After a moment of confusion, which ended when Harry whispered a translation in Ron's ear, the redhead's scowl grew and he crossed his arms over his chest. "It doesn't! You can have other friends, but… why Loony?"

"Because we're going to the Yule Ball together, Ronald, and Hermione and I didn't want it to be awkward. So, as part of our agreement, we met for lunch today." Luna tilted her head to the side, staring at Ron with unblinking silver eyes. "You know, you should really close your mouth before the blibbering humdingers decide to start nesting in there…"

Hermione had to make a point of closing her own jaw, though, which gave her a bit of empathy for how Ron felt. Luna had effectively just outted them as at least a temporary couple. Given she was pretty sure the redhead had a crush on her, the fact that she was seeking affection elsewhere had to be painful enough. The Luna Factor was just adding insult to injury. Not that there was any affection going either way between the two of them, she hurriedly reminded herself, but that's how she was pretty sure Ron would see it.

After working his jaw for a moment, Ron finally managed to get coherent sounds to emerge. "This? This is your mystery date? The one you turned me down for? You're going to the Yule Ball with Luna BLOODY Lovegood?!" Hermione winced at the rising volume of his voice, the Three Broomsticks rapidly quieting as all attention turned their way. "What… what the hell is that?" Brushing off Harry's hand, Ron turned and stormed away. After a moment of looking between the two, Harry gave Hermione a helpless shrug and went after their mutual friend, presumably to calm him down.

Burying her head in her hands, Hermione sighed as whispers sprung up in Ron's wake, knowing they were all talking about her. While dating outside one's year wasn't too uncommon, especially one year older or younger, Luna had previous informed her that dating a member of one's own gender wasn't common in the wizarding world. And… it was Loony Lovegood. Hermione had kept her ears and eyes open over the last month, watching how others treated the odd little blonde, and it disturbed her.

Mostly because, if not for a freak troll attack in first year, it could have been her. Sure, she didn't talk about blibbering humdingers or crumpled-horn snorkacks, but she'd been just as big a pariah until the vaunted Boy-Who-Lived took her into his circle of friends, elevating her in the eyes of her peers. Luna had no such benefactor, and languished in the wasteland outside of all the school's tightly knit social circles.

"Would you like to try some of my steak and kidney pudding?" Hermione raised her head, meeting Luna's calm yet compassionate gaze. "It's not an entirely magnanimous offer, though; I'm personally curious to try your chicken kiev. Not curious enough to order it myself, mind you, just in case I don't like it. I'd hate to waste food." She gestured to her own plate. "So, trade a little with me?"

Hermione blinked stupidly at Luna, looking down at their respective plates before fixing the blonde with an incredulous gaze. "Ron just announced our little… whatever… to the entire school, and the first thing you can think about is our lunch? Don't you care what people are going to think? What your friends are going to say? Wait, you don't have that proble…" She trailed off, realizing she'd put her foot in her mouth. "I'm sorry, Luna, I didn't mean that. I'm just a bit upset and I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

Shrugging, Luna took a sip of her butterbeer before reaching across the table to pat Hermione's hand. "You're not used to being on the outside looking in anymore. And you don't want to be used to it ever again. I can't say I understand, since I've never been allowed inside. Do you want to cancel with me and find someone more acceptable to go to the ball with?"

"After that scene, the entire school will know by dinner. What do you think my odds are of finding someone else to go with me? I mean, even Neville's got a date with Ginny Weasley." Hermione chuckled and eyed her pumpkin juice for a moment before reaching over and stealing Luna's butterbeer bottle, taking a long drag before setting it down again. "No, at this point, I say we do it. I'm not going to let the narrow-minded wizarding world or Ronald Weasley ruin what could be a delightful evening for me. And besides, Gryffindors go forward."

Luna nodded before pausing, looking down at the blue and bronze tie she'd thrown on even with her casual weekend clothes. "I'm not a Gryffindor, though."

Smirking, Hermione waved her wand and Luna's tie rippled before changing into the red and gold of Gryffindor. "There. You are now." Tucking her wand away, she eyed her own plate before pushing it towards the middle of the table and pulling Luna's next to it. "Bon appétit."

* * *

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Hermione looked up for her book and, realizing Harry was settling in across from her for a serious conversation, marked her place before closing it. "Know what I'm doing… elaborate please?"

Sighing, Harry picked at an invisible piece of lint on his pants for a moment before looking up to meet her gaze again. "With Luna, Hermione. Do you know what you're doing? I mean, I'm all for you doing whatever makes you happy, but the rest of the school seems to be a bit behind us muggle-raised as far as tolerance. You're going to have a lot of people sharing their opinions with you about this, and most aren't going to be too kind. Even Ron…"

"Ronald is a petty little boy who's upset that someone he was too cowardly to approach, someone who has absolutely no interest in him mind you, has found someone else to go to the ball with." Hermione scowled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "He'd be just as bad if I was going with you, or Neville, or Malfoy, or… or Viktor Krum."

Harry chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Viktor Krum?"

Nodding, Hermione looked over at where someone had tethered one of the miniature Viktors from the World Cup to a desk, watching him zip in and out of the desk's legs until he ran out of string and then reversing course to untangle himself. "He asked me, you know. I could be going to the ball with Viktor Krum, Quidditch God and Triwizard Champion."

"Wait a minute, you could be going to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum?" Harry's jaw dropped as Hermione nodded. "And you're not?" She nodded again. "Are you mad?"

That was the question of the hour, wasn't it? Even if she didn't want to be Viktor's fangirl shield, she could have picked another date to the ball… even poached Neville for herself before he got desperate enough to ask her for help with Ginny. Instead, she was going with an odd little blonde Ravenclaw with no friends and a tendency to babble on about creatures Hermione was pretty sure didn't exist. She was normally the cool and logical one, doing the thinking for her two friends to keep them from getting themselves killed or, even worse, expelled. Where was her logic now? "I suppose you could call me that. Or, dare I say even… loony?"


	3. Mirror

Disclaimer: Captain Fangirlhumper… err, J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter universe. 'Mirror' is the property of BarlowGirl and their CD label and stuff. Not mine.  
Joe's Note: Continuing my bad habit of using Christian songs for femmeslash stories… BarlowGirl is actually part of the clump of 'evangelical' bands that's homophobic, I think. Not entirely sure, and I didn't ask the sisters when I met them. Moving on… have some fic.

* * *

_'Who are you to tell me,  
That I'm less than what I should be?  
Who are you? Who are you?  
I don't need to listen,  
To the list of things I should do.  
I won't try, I won't try…'_

* * *

Tipping another handful of the thick, almost paste-like Sleekeazy's Hair Potion into her palm, Hermione stood in front of her mirror and worked it through her riotous mass of frizzy hair. Picking up her brush once more, she worked it through the last section of bushy mess, watching as her hair relaxed into sleek, straight locks … hence the potion's name, she assumed. Eyeing herself critically, Hermione smiled. She had to admit, she did look good. Still, it was at the cost of half a bottle of potion and a good twenty or twenty-five extra minutes, which she just couldn't justify on a daily basis. Oh well.

So now what? Hermione stared at herself in the mirror. How did one do makeup to accentuate a silver dress? If she did silver lips or eye shadow, she'd end up looking like a corpse at worst and some sort of peculiar ice sprite at best. Then again, she was bringing a third-year girl to the Yule Ball. Was there any way NOT to look peculiar at this point? So after a moment's contemplation, she picked up the issue of _Teen Witch Weekly_ that Lavender had left in their shared bathroom as a none-too-subtle hint and begin examining the charms listed there.

Given Lavender had mastered them three years ago, they were none too complicated and after a few tries to experiment with different options, Hermione settled on glittery silver lips and matching eye shadow. Retreating back to her dorm room, she slid on her dress and put in the snowflake earrings she'd acquired just for fun's sake. High heels were the last part of her outfit, if one was fashion-obsessed to consider them truly articles of clothing, and then Hermione realized she was ready to go. She could stall longer if she wanted to, but in the end the night would proceed and her cowardice would just delay things. Besides, when in doubt, she reminded herself, Gryffindors go forward.

As she descended into the common room, Hermione found most of the house waiting for her, paired off into couples with the younger years muttering and glaring as they perched on couches and tables. A goodly number of them seemed to be shooting glances her way and she understood why when Harry waved to get her attention. "Err, Hermione? Your… date… is here."

Ah. That explained a lot. Hermione crossed the room to where Harry was waiting with who she assumed was Padma. After all, Parvati likely would have been bragging about snagging the Boy-Who-Lived as a date if it was her… but on the other hand, wouldn't she have complained if her own sister stole such a prestigious date for herself? Further contemplation of the issue came to a halt when Harry and Padma stepped to one side and she caught her first glimpse of Luna.

Hermione shook her head in mute disbelief. Evidently, Luna had taken her vow of being 'a perfect gentleman' seriously. Her outfit reminded Hermione of a muggle tuxedo adapted for a female form, a skirt and petticoat replacing the pants and black and white tights beneath that covering Luna's legs. There wasn't that much leg to show, though, with black high-heeled boots that came up to just below her knee and pushed her up so she'd be pretty much the same height as Hermione herself. She wore a top hat with a glossy silver band, matching the silver bow tie of her tuxedo shirt.

It was, all things considered, painfully adorable.

"Hullo, Hermione." Luna grinned and reached behind her, her hand emerging with the promised corsage. Hermione offered up her left hand obediently and took the opportunity to inspect her new fashion accessory as Luna slid it onto her wrist. With three perfect white roses accompanied by a number of smaller white blossoms, it was simple, tasteful, and beautiful. Something, given her bizarre taste in clothing and jewelry, Hermione honestly hadn't expected from Luna. "I tried making a corsage out of radish flowers, but it didn't go with our robes."

Hermione tried her best to determine whether the younger blonde was kidding or not.

She honestly couldn't tell.

* * *

"Merlin, Granger, this is low even for you. So desperate for some company that you had to come with a girl, and Loony Lovegood at that. Couldn't you have at least attached yourself to the Weasel? Or even Longbottom?"

Groaning, Hermione turned to face someone she honestly had hoped to avoid for the evening. Oh no. She'd managed to run into him in the Entrance Hall. She knew there'd be little support from her housemates, either. While normally they would jump on a chance to go after Draco Malfoy and hopefully take him down a peg, her choice of companion for the evening offended their sensibilities for the most part and so she was likely on her own.

In the end, though, that turned out to not be a problem. Even as she racked her mind for a way to push back mentally and send Malfoy on his not-so-merry way, Luna stepped up and took care of the problem. "If your parents got divorced, would they still be brother and sister?"

"WHAT?!" Malfoy's eyes bulged impressively and a hush descended over the students as the pair of blondes became the center of attention. Hermione groaned; like she and Luna needed any more attention…

Luna seemed to think so. Stepping forward, she gave Malfoy one of the peculiar, not-quite-all-there smiles Hermione had seen her employ to scare off Ron when the redhead tried to interrupt their Hogsmeade lunches or library study sessions. "I asked you if your parents got divorced, would they still be brother and sister? Are you hard of hearing? I've read that inbreeding can cause all sorts of problems…"

Sputtering, Malfoy quickly slid from pale, through a number of shades of red, and on to an impressive purple. "My parents are not related!"

"Well, they both look so incredibly similar... the blonde hair, the pale eyes, the aristocratic features..." Luna gave a carefree shrug before turning away. "It's really a quite logical assumption." The doors of the Great Hall groaned and began to swing open, and Luna skipped over to offer an arm to Hermione. "Shall we?"

Hermione looked over at the still sputtering Malfoy and offered him a smirk before threading her arm through Luna's. "We shall." Entering the Great Hall, though, was easier said than done as everyone stopped almost immediately upon entering to admire the décor. Hermione was no exception but recovered faster than most, guiding Luna over to a mostly free table occupied by a few Ravenclaws in her year. After all, they had all night to admire the work that had been put into the hall. "May we join you?"

Exchanging looks, the Ravenclaws remained silent for a long moment before Morag MacDougal took charge and gestured to two of the free seats. "It's up to you. We're probably going to spend most of the night sitting here discussing Ancient Runes, but if you and Loo…na don't mind, you're welcome to join us."

"Morag, I sit behind you in Ancient Runes. You know I enjoy the class." The Ravenclaw blushed and grinned at that one and Hermione gestured to her gate. "Luna's actually further ahead than me. Probably because her father prints those rune puzzles in _The Quibbler_."

Li Su perked up at the mention of the magazine. "That's right, I always see you wandering around with one of those. Is there a point to reading them upside-down?"

Reaching into her jacket, Luna pulled out a well-worn copy of the magazine in question and opened it, tilting her head to one side and then the other. "Is there a point to reading them right-side up?"

"Psst. Hermione." Hermione looked over at Morag and leaned in as the brunette beckoned. "Is she just messing with us or is she actually that strange?"

Hermione looked over at Luna, who had a new neighbor in the form of Su and was gesturing to the magazine as she rotated it one way and then another. "Some days, I think I know… and then other days, I really wonder." She opened her mouth to elaborate but something slammed into her from behind, pitching her forward and slamming her ribs into the edge of the table. Turning, she glared at… "Ronald."

Her former friend glared right back as he straightened up, offering his arm to his date again. "Hermione. C'mon, Parvati. Let's see if we can find somewhere better to sit." Interestingly enough, her roommate didn't look any more thrilled with her than Ron did at the moment. What had she done to irritate the witch lately? As the pair wandered off, Hermione barely heard Ron's parting shot. "Todger dodger."

Ah. Right. If she was here with Luna, she must be a lesbian and therefore must be interested in Parvati. Or at least that was how Hermione was assuming the Indian girl's mind was working. Shaking her head, she returned her attention to her own table. "Haven't even kissed a girl and people are already starting to make assumptions."

"Haven't even kissed a girl YET." Hermione's brows shot up at that and Luna grinned impishly. "I hear it's good to have goals."

"Cute."

"I know I am. The fact that you think so is a good sign."

Hermione just rolled her eyes.


	4. Chemicals React

Disclaimer: Captain Fangirlhumper… err, J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter universe. 'Chemicals React' is the property of Aly & AJ and their CD label and stuff. Not mine.  
Joe's Note: Yeah, I know it says Jane. But if JKR is too damn stupid to avoid giving two characters the same middle name and then changes the name of a MAIN CHARACTER to compensate… well, that's not my fault.

* * *

_'Were you right? Was I wrong?  
Were you weak? Was I strong?  
Yeah…  
Both of us broken,  
Caught in a moment.  
We lived and we loved,  
And we hurt and we jumped.  
Yeah…  
But the planets all aligned,  
When you looked into my eyes.  
And just like that,  
The chemicals react…  
The chemicals react…'_

* * *

Hermione had never known the joy of spending time with intellectual equals. Before Hogwarts, her peers had seized on her middle name and nicknamed her 'Brainy Jane' and her parents had certainly never treated her as an equal despite her formidable intelligence. Then at Hogwarts, she'd immediately been ostracized because of her academic prowess. When she finally had made friends in Harry and Ron, she'd discovered from interacting with Ron that not even her friends shared her love of learning and that pushing them would just cause problems. So while she did nag a bit, she did her best to repress it… and so it was a joy to finally open up and talk without having to censor herself or speak in words with less than three syllables.

Hell, these people actually knew what syllables were!

Broaching the subject of house elves had gotten her some amazingly insightful and useful information about their origins, magical binding, and servitude from two students whose families owned them, and Hermione was just about ready to counter one of Morag's arguments when she found her mouth full of chicken. Freezing, she looked down to see a pale hand holding a fork in front of her. The others chuckled as Hermione looked over and glared at Luna, who just grinned unapologetically. "Dinner's getting cold. You wouldn't want to disrespect the house elves by not eating the food they spent all day making, would you? It'll just go to waste then and their work will be for nothing."

"Nnph." Wait, she wasn't going to devolve into Ronald just because she was annoyed. Chewing the piece of chicken and swallowing, Hermione took another stab at things. "No. But in the future, perhaps a verbal warning would be a better idea than shoving food into my mouth. I could have choked on that."

Morag chuckled lowly but wasn't quiet enough to keep Hermione from overhearing her. "I bet Weasley would love to see you choking on some chicken."

Pausing with her fork halfway to her mouth again, Hermione looked over at the Scottish Ravenclaw curiously. "I know he and I are having our issues, but I doubt he wishes permanent harm on me…"

"Wow. Way to miss a perfectly good innuendo, Granger." The others snickered and Hermione blushed faintly; they were clearly amused at her ignorance but she didn't feel it was malicious, so she pushed down the instinctive spark of anger and looked over at Luna. The blonde was whistling quietly and staring up at the ceiling. Even LUNA knew? Was she really that repressed and insulated from the normal goings on of her teenage peers? Morag sighed loudly. "I'm going to have to explain this to you, aren't I?"

Luna bailed her out, which Hermione supposed was good for Morag but didn't lessen the embarrassing nature of the situation any for her. "Fellatio. She was implying that Ronald's frustration with your taste in dates has to do with him wanting you sexually." Hermione's jaw dropped at the bold statement, which Luna proceeded to misinterpret. "What? Everyone ignores me. Always. You'd be amazed at what I hear when I'm sitting around the common room."

Shaking her head, Hermione leaned back in her seat and turned to stare at where a telltale mop of orangish-red hair was sitting next to black: Ron and Parvati. "That's ridiculous. I know he has a crush, but if he wanted to do something about it, he had all of last year when Harry couldn't leave the castle… most of this year…"

"You're the safety girl." Su reached across Luna to pat Hermione's hand. "He figured you wouldn't go anywhere, so it didn't matter what he did because he could always look you up if he was desperate. Now you're proving you're not 'safe', and with a person he doesn't like or approve of. So he's lashing out at you. Probably hoping that you'll be so upset at the possibility of losing his friendship, you'll push Luna away and go back to being friends with only him and Harry."

Hermione looked down at her plate, mind racing as she evaluated what the others were telling her. It all made sense now. She could see exactly what they were talking about in every action Ron had taken since finding out about Luna. What an utter… what a bloody bastard! Growling lowly, she pushed the remains of her dinner away. "Sod the house elves. I'm not hungry anymore."

* * *

Thankfully for Ronald's continued health, the festivities shifted over to the actual ball portion shortly thereafter, which allowed Luna to distract Hermione from plotting the redhead's messy death. While the first dance went to the champions and their dates (and good Lord, Harry was pathetic on the dance floor for someone who could outfly dragons and dodge basilisks), Luna dragged Hermione out starting with the second song and kept her too busy to dwell on anything else.

Luna raised one arm and Hermione couldn't help but laugh as Luna spun her, silver dress flaring out a bit before a tug pulled her back into Luna's possession. She couldn't help but notice how well they fit together as they continued to dance, although Hermione was sure part of it had to do with the significant height boost from Luna's heels. Idly, she wondered how well they'd fit together in normal flats… and then blushed. Luna was just a friend. This was an arrangement of convenience for the two of them. And even if it wasn't, she wasn't a… todger dodger, as Ronald had so delightfully put it.

Was she?

She'd never really spent time pondering boys like Lavender and Parvati did, but that didn't say anything about her sexuality as far as she was concerned. She was merely more concerned with her career because, God bless her the woman, but she had no desire to end up pushing out a brood of children and staying home with them like Molly Weasley had. She wanted to have a good job… be someone… do things. There'd be time for romance when she was grown up and a respectable adult member of the magical community.

But just because she didn't think about boys didn't mean she DID think about girls. She was, if anything, an almost asexual being before this odd desire to assert her femininity had struck her. Then she had passed up an offer from Viktor Krum himself, albeit one with an ulterior motive, to attend with a quirky third-year Ravenclaw girl. They hadn't even been friends at the time, so she couldn't factor that into things. Why had she gone with Luna instead of Viktor?

Did she like girls?

Hermione saw only one logical path to pursue: answering the question definitively with a simple experiment. When the song came to an end, she pulled away from Luna but kept her fingers interlaced with the blonde's. Tugging her along gently, she led Luna to the edge of the room and then down the side until they slipped through the doors and out into the Entrance Hall again. "Where are we going?"

"I need to borrow you for an experiment." Pausing long enough to run through the possibilities in her mind, Hermione set off for an abandoned classroom on the first floor. Opening the door, she pulled Luna inside before shutting it behind them. "I need you to kiss me."

Impossibly, Luna's eyes seemed to get even wider at that one. "What?"

Hermione sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, before realizing it wasn't too inviting a posture and dropping them down to hang at her sides. "You told me you were going to be the gentleman here. So make like a boy, take control, and kiss me."

"Key word there being gentleman, Hermione." Luna nibbled at her lower lip, looking uncertain. "I know what I want, but this is a sudden change for you. Are you sure you want to..?"

Oh for crying out loud. Fine. If Luna wasn't going to kiss her, she'd take matters into her own hands. Hermione closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around Luna's waist and pulling her in for a kiss. Given she had nothing but theoretical knowledge to work with, it was a bit awkward but they managed well enough. And while it wasn't the fireworks and trumpets hyperbole that she'd read about, it was pleasant enough.

She'd always expected it to be a hard, masculine body she pressed herself against when kissing someone, but Luna's slight, soft, feminine form wasn't bad, only different. Heat fairly radiated from the blonde; she could feel it through the material of her dress as Luna pulled her close, one hand going to the small of her back as the other slowly roamed up her back before cupping the back of her neck. When they broke apart, Luna's eyes were closed and her lips parted and slightly swollen, bits of Hermione's silver glitter lipstick clinging to them.

Well, she still didn't know if she liked girls… but she definitely liked this girl.

Now what?


	5. Around the Bend

Disclaimer: Captain Fangirlhumper… err, J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter universe. 'Around the Bend' is the property of The Asteroids Galaxy Tour and their CD label and stuff. And if you've heard an iPod Touch commercial lately, you've likely heard it. Not mine.  
Joe's Note: Stupid addictive iPod commercial…

* * *

_'Give me that thing, give in my friend,  
Give me good good times around the bend.  
I'll stay forever.  
Give me that thing, give in my friend,  
Give me hot hot love around the bend.  
I'll stay forever with you…'_

* * *

The two girls were silent as they returned to the dance, but it wasn't uncomfortable. At least not for Hermione. She had plenty to think about and mindless chatter would only distract her. Looking over at Luna, her lips quirked up at the ear-to-ear grin the blonde was sporting, along with the slightly flushed cheeks. Not quite 'well snogged', to use the term she'd heard bandied about the common room, but definitely pleased with herself.

Just as they reached the Great Hall, though, Morag, Su, and the others decided to make a break for it and left the festivities behind. Morag looked the two over before raising an eyebrow curiously. "Where did you two wander off to?"

"The loo."

"Courtyard for some fresh air."

Hermione winced. Perhaps they should have synchronized their alibis before leaving the classroom? At least Luna hadn't blurted out 'getting kissed by Hermione' or something else truthful. On the other hand, she apparently didn't have to. "The loo, eh, Luna? Decide to put on some lipstick while you were there? That just so happens to match Hermione's?"

Looking over at the blonde, Hermione winced again. She'd noticed the glittery lipstick on Luna before, but her mind had been too occupied with thoughts of kissing and such to be its normal useful self. They were well and truly busted now. "Bugger."

"Tsk tsk, Hermione." Morag waggled a finger at her, making Hermione growl. "Do you kiss your mum with that mouth?"

Snickering, Su decided to toss in her two knuts about the situation. "We know who she does kiss with that mouth."

Hermione turned to Luna for support, but even her date looked amused with the situation. Hermione groaned. Traitors, the lot of them. Then again, did it really matter at this point if people knew she'd kissed Luna? Everyone assumed the worst about her and Luna anyways, to the point that her own roommate of four years assumed she was going to… molest her, or some such nonsense.

Then again, if people were going to believe the worst of her regardless of her actual behavior, Hermione decided, it was only logical that she stop worrying about their reactions to what she actually did. The only ones who did matter to her, they'd come to her and ask, and believe her when she told them the truth. Like Harry. And hopefully her new Ravenclaw friends. "Oh, fine. You've got us. We decided to go have our first kiss somewhere private so it wouldn't turn into a spectacle in the Great Hall."

"Besides, the mistletoe is infested with nargles." Luna shuddered and looked up fearfully, in search of the charmed mistletoe that had been roaming the castle for the last few days. "I wanted to escape before they migrated to Hermione or I."

Absolute silence. Then Hermione was pretty sure she heard a cricket. She grinned. No matter how many times she witnessed it, Hermione didn't think she'd ever get over how amusing it was to watch even some of Hogwarts' best and brightest be brought up short by an innocent comment delivered by Luna Lovegood. One thing was certain: whether or not things went beyond friendship with Luna, Hermione had every intention of remaining at least friends with the blonde.

Someone had to keep her on her toes, after all.

Hermione waited for them to shake off the shock of having a Luna-ism unloaded on them but when they continued to remain silent and shocked, she rolled her eyes and took Luna's hand in her own. "Well, I assume the festivities are winding down if you all are leaving. Luna, will you walk me back up to the tower?"

"Depends on whether or not I get a goodnight kiss when we get there." Hermione shot the blonde one of the 'you just said something incredibly stupid and I'm about to hit you' looks she normally reserved for Ron, and Luna shifted, looking a tad nervous and off-balance for the first time that Hermione could remember. Interesting. While Luna normally took charge when they were together, it was nice to know she could still assert the commanding presence that kept Ron and Harry in line if she needed to. "I mean, I'd love to walk you up to Gryffindor Tower because that's the gentlemanly thing to do, Hermione."

"That's what I thought." Hermione waved to the Ravenclaws with her free hand before guiding Luna away towards the stairs that led all the way up to where the entrance to Gryffindor Tower was. She almost felt sorry for Luna, knowing the blonde would have a significant hike to get across the school to Ravenclaw Tower after dropping her off, but whose idea had it been for Luna to be the 'gentleman' and push them into traditional gender roles? Certainly not hers. Maybe next time, Luna would think before suggesting something that didn't leave them on equal footing. After all, as amusing as tonight had been, she was a modern girl who had grown up in the modern muggle world. There was no reason they couldn't have met in the Entrance Hall, exchanged corsages, or even both worn dresses.

Something to bring up with Luna in the future, Hermione decided, should things progress much further.

Which she was fairly certain they would. Certainly none too fast; she was only fifteen and Luna only thirteen. But Luna was a good friend with a quick wit and an even quicker mind. Running around looking for a relationship like Lavender and Parvati was foolish, but what was wrong with allowing a friendship to evolve into more if that was nature's course?

All too soon they were in front of the Fat Lady, which drew the first truly awkward moment of the night. Hermione knew exactly what Luna wanted and was fairly certain she wanted it too… but being only 'fairly' certain instead of 'totally' certain was keeping Luna from being the one to initiate, just like earlier. She stared into Luna's wide grey eyes, reaching up to slowly run one hand through the blonde's long hair. Come on…

Come on…

Nothing.

Hermione sighed before leaning in, hand sliding to the back of Luna's head to hold her in place as she pressed her lips firmly against the younger girl's cheek. When she pulled back, a perfect silver lip print adorned Luna's blushing skin. People would assume anyways, so why not have a bit of fun? "See you for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Mmmkay. I'll save you a seat at the Ravenclaw table, unless you want to try bringing me to the Gryffindor table again?" They'd tried that only once, and it had been an unbridled disaster. Hermione never would have believed her own housemates of being so stupid and petty until she saw the way they treated 'Loony Lovegood'. No, as long as Ravenclaw would have her, she would prefer not to repeat that experience. She nodded her assent and Luna smiled before turning away, hand coming up to caress her own marked cheek. "Sweet dreams, Hermione."

"Night, Luna." Hermione watched as the younger girl walked off, not looking away until she turned down a side corridor. Tapping the side of the Fat Lady's frame, she waited until the woman broke away from her conversation with the visiting Violet. "Yuletide." The frame swung forward and Hermione ducked her head as she passed through into the common room.

Tonight had gone well enough, Hermione decided. Ron had made an arse of himself, but she was getting used to that. Nobody had tried to hex her, stone her, or anything of the sort. She'd kissed a girl and found it rather pleasant. On the other hand, she had no idea where this… whatever… with Luna was going. But she'd managed several small steps forward with no steps backward. That was enough for her to declare victory in her mind.

Since she had no interest in sitting around the common room in a dressing gown or putting on a clean set of casual clothes for the hour or two she had left awake, Hermione decided to flop down on the couch in front of the fire in her dress, curling up against the arm and watching the flickering flames.

Lulled by the gentle heat and hypnotic flames, Hermione wasn't even aware of her friends' return until a pair of fingers snapped in front of her face. Hermione looked up to find Harry grinning down at her. "So…"

"So..?"

Harry flopped down on the couch next to her. "I walked Padma back to her tower. We had a nice time, although she reminded me a bit too much of you for us to actually hit it off."

Scoffing, Hermione elbowed her best friend. "You say that as if resembling me is a bad thing."

"It is when I think of you like my sister." Harry rubbed his side before continuing. "Anyways, on the way back, I saw the most bizarre sight. Luna was walking back to Ravenclaw Tower, and had what looked suspiciously like silver lips on her cheek. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that… or what might have happened to your lipstick?"

Hermione brought her hand up to her lips and then pulled it away, amused to see that very little of her lipstick remained to rub off. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Rising from the couch, she stretched for a moment before looking over at the clock. Wow. Had she really lost almost half an hour just staring at the fire? "I think I'll turn in now. Is He-Who-Is-Going-To-Get-Hexed back yet?"

After mouthing the name in amusement, Harry nodded. "Left before me and Parvati's a Gryffindor. I can't see him not being back by now. Why?"

"Just wanted to know if Parvati was back yet. She was glaring at me something fierce tonight. I think the silly girl is afraid I'm after her virtue or something." Hermione crossed the room and ascended the winding stairs up to the fourth floor, where she shared a room with Parvati and Lavender. When she opened the door, the pair was sitting on Parvati's bed and abruptly went silent, staring at her. Great. They'd been talking about her. Rolling her eyes, Hermione turned away and headed for her own bed. "Parvati?"

"What do you want, Granger?"

"You have nothing to worry about. I like blondes, remember?"

Lavender squeaked.


End file.
